Dickson: Northampton Saints still hungry for silverware

March 11, 2015

00:00

After their maiden Aviva Premiership Rugby title success last year Northampton Saints are desperate to secure more silverware and Lee Dickson has vowed to give it both barrels in this weekend’s LV= Cup semi-final.

Allianz Park has proved an impenetrable fortress for most visitors so far this season, but Jim Mallinder’s men did manage to breach Saracens’ defences back in November.

The Saints notched up a 31-24 victory in the league, and in doing so became the first visiting team to score more than 30 points at Allianz Park.

And Dickson believes that Northampton will have to produce a similar level of performance again on Saturday if they are to progress to back-to-back LV= Cup finals – this one hosted at their very own Franklin’s Gardens home a week on Sunday.

“To win at Saracens you need to be very, very disciplined,” he said. “They are a world class team with world class players – penalties will cost you down there.

“But you’ve got to be willing to play as well, and think outside the box in attack. They are so good in defence you have to do something special there.

“We’re not banking on anything at all, but we’d love to set our stall out and get a trophy early.

“Getting the mindset right for knockout rugby is always important at this time of year, and so the knockouts in the LV= Cup are great preparation for the end of the season too.”

Saracens have already shown their strength in depth by winning the A League and academy titles this season, but Dickson is backing Northampton’s young-guns to prove their worth on Saturday.

He added: “They are chomping at the bit to get out there now! It’s down to them that we’re here as they’ve played most of the games, so it’s right they follow it up and hopefully win a trophy for the club.

“Tom Collins has been very impressive so far as has Tom Stephenson, and then in the forwards Teimana Harrison has really shown his metal as well.

“It’s just about getting the balance right between them and having some of the more experienced guys in there. Hopefully the coaches will do that and we’ll get a good result.”